Let's Talk Cyclecars

the Jappic uses a 1924 sturmey archer motorcycle box,so no reverse here, but it is a very small light car

it was designed to run at brooklands and to break speed records so reverse wasnt required,

in later pictures it aquired a little push button switch on the gear lever, and my assumption was it was used to do full throttle shifts without the clutch and as it had a hand throttle on the steering wheel rather than a pedal it makes sense, or at least to me
so to change push kill switch and when the load comes off the gearbox dogs shift into next gear let go of button,

in the days before F1 cars had sequential hydraulic shift the driver would apply pressure on the gear lever then when the rev limiter cut in and the dogs became unloaded the driver could shift gear with the throttle to the floor

 

Not sure what they did to be honest. But it had to have a flywheel. It's been about 40 years since I fooled with VWs - forgot about the gears & pump - so that pretty much limits it to the back half...

 

The pistons on the Nuovo 500 traveled at the same time, but the firing sequence alternated between the cylinders. According the the factory service manual, the firing order was (wait for it!): 1-2

 

Thanks for the comments. I'm a big fan of full bodywork and lots of curves which is why I'm heading in the direction that I am. My inspiration being cars like the Mercedes Silver Arrows, early Formula One Ferraris and such. Here's a quick rendering of the basic look I'm going for. Instead of having the jugs exposed (Don't get me wrong, I like exposed jugs as much as any guy!) there will be scoops on either side of the main grille opening that will catch and direct air into the engine compartment towards the jugs. This will also give the car a low and wider look at the front rather than narrow and tall. I plan to place the fuel tank above and behind the motor in the cowl area to avoid the need for a pump and to help maintain proper weight distribution. As for reverse, my plan is to mount a lightened flywheel inline with the driveshaft just in front of the axle along with starter motor mounted off the differential. Reverse will be push button activated.

 

Sameo as the early Brit bike twins, Triumphs and such.

 

10-4. The back half being the back end of the car, not the engine. ALL the important stuff is on the that end, oil pump, gears, and distributor. The one I saw had a taper turned unto the crank for the prop to mate up with. The block was machined and had a plate bolted to it to support the crank and keep the juice in. Of course, for an airplane they subbed a mag and had another mag run off the end of the crank.

 

Well thought out and very cool, AR. Thanks for sharing the plan for reverse. I will file that idea away.

 

Cyclecar story posted on PreWarCar.com featuring a Quadrilette:

http://www.prewarcar.com/magazine/previous-features/my-little-quadrilette-018935.html

 

Speaking of engines in small planes (see post #3455), have you all seen Brian Thorby's excellent book 'Douglas Light Aero Engines' published quite recently? As well as covering Douglas and related engines, it also covers almost every other small aero engine of the 20s and 30s, and is stuffed with delightful images, line drawings and useful information which would be invaluable for the cyclecar or other special builder.

A well read addition to my own library, it has a lot of very authoritative information on a fascinating collection of engines which are seldom seen these days except in museum collections! Well done to UKAde for getting his Blacknburne Tomtit running.

Marticelli

 

I realised that after I'd posted my post.

Steyr-Puch made the 500 under licence in Austria, but used their own flat-twin engine:


By all accounts a superior unit to the Fiat engine.

 

Thanks! Would have never known....
Bob

 

Here are couple of pictures from Rutger Booy ( www.PreWarCar.com )of last year's 100 Miles of Amsterdam.It's a night time ralley.Sometimes the weather is good.Sometimes no so much.Then factor in a vintage car...with poor lights,maybe no heater or other protection.These pictures of Duncan's fur covered GN.

BanjeauX Bob

 

BRRRRRR!

Herb

 

This is from http://www.Justacarguy.blogspot.co.uk It's an assembly of a little of this and that.

 

Looks like it is powered with an old hit and miss engine.

I would love to pull up to some snob car meet with that, and tell them that I found it in an old manure shed.

Herb

 

Talking cyclecars again, or light cars or whatever, here are a couple pulled from Flickr. La Musée de Lohéac.

 

Here are a couple of photos from Juri Castricum at the start of the "100 Miles of Amsterdam " rallye.See how nice the weather is at the start? We'll see how it ends!

 

♪♪... "waltzing in a winter wonderland" ...♪♪

 

Thanks for the Frank Seeger pics Lung!

 

Who is Frank Seeger ... Pete Seeger's brother pehaps?

 

Frank Seeger is the owner of the blue car wearing chains.He is also an automotive author and has extensive knowledge of Anzani engines.

 

Thanks Bob ... I pulled those shots off the Web about 8(?) or so years ago ... maybe even longer. Knew nothing about them except that those guys are made of sterner stuff than I. Bad enough getting wet, but I'd rather forgo the hypothermia in snow!

 

Your driving must not stir enough adrenalin then....

 

Yair - whatever...
By the way - I'd like to wish all the best to fellow HAMBR's for the rapidly approaching Festive Season, and wish you all a safe and healthy 2013 (free of any form of hypothermia).
May your cyclecar/voiturette/voiturelle/light car/tricar/microcar or even your b....y bicycle (or unicycle) generate no frustration or mechanical malfunction.

 

Any suspension detail shots of this underslung?

 

Looks like friction shocks on the front semi-eliptical .Maybe quarter eliptical in the rear.I'll ask Frank.

 

Collet-Anzani 1924: yet another vehicle name new to me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tz66-bilder/4584558683/sizes/l/
........
http://www.anzani.de/

Looks as though the rears are semi-elliptic too.

 

See,you found Frank's site!

 

Yeah.. but to be strictly accurate it's more along the lines of re-discovered.The interesting thing is that while I tend to bang on about always being able to discover a new vehicle name through veteran cars, here's a vintage car whose name (Collet) was unknown to me up 'til now.
From my admittedly dubious memory I seem to recall reading that in Lyons in 1900 there were 100 manufacturers of motor vehicles. Mind boggling...

 

Speaking of Anzani...this one from Tim Gunn.Tim is the guy that sells the book "How to Build A Cyclecar" when he has it in stock...